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Hire the Right Qualities

With an extremely low unemployment rate, hiring can be a battle! To circumvent the possibility of making poor hiring choices based only on passing filters through met qualifications, it is important to look for quality employees, and not to lose a possible perfect organizational fit due to an outdated hiring filter.

With Nebraska unemployment rates extremely low, employers can make a tough situation worse by applying unnecessary hiring screens to their processes. These filters could be based on degrees, work backgrounds and disqualifiers such as credit scores or criminal backgrounds.

With certain jobs, degrees are absolutely necessary, IE: nurses, doctors, layers, etc. However, just because you have previously hired individuals with bachelor degrees, that should not preclude you from giving thought to looking at individuals with associate degrees, or perhaps no degree, but with similar experience.

Nontraditional work backgrounds can offer a transferable skill set. Success comes from ability and experience, not strictly one or the other. With drive and passion, employees can exceed expectations; adversely, with lack of these, an employee can fall short of hopes.

Some disqualifiers are mandated by federal law, such as care workers being unable to have a criminal history. However, some are company policy and could be outdated or irrelevant. To screen out potential hires based on a criminal history, credit score or reference, could be a misstep. Many applicants are working toward bettering their lives and are looking for a chance to prove themselves.

In the end, removing hiring filters may increase the length of the hiring process, due to more resumes and more choices. However, if you find the best possible fit, it could reduce your turnover and increase your employee satisfaction.